Another Tomorrow
by RandomPandaGirl
Summary: AU! What if Damon and Stefan where born in our time and had more siblings? What if only Damon was a vampire?  - After meeting with his older sister Damon sets off to deliver something to his babybrother only to stay and wreck havoc upon Mystic Falls.
1. 1 The Turning Tide

**A/N: So...look! A story! I seriously have no idea where I'm going with this, but let me give a bit background. This story is VERY MUCH AU! In this story Damon and Stefan have a lot more siblings. Stefan is not a vampire. They are not from 1864. I had this idea a while back and it was nagging me forever so I spat it out. Let me know if I should continue! I would love feedback!**

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><p>(Now)<br>Damon's POV

He turned the radio up, the ring on his finger flashing from the light from the dashboard, and then rested his hand back on the steering wheel. He leaned his head gently against the head rest and glanced down to see that he was driving at a moderate 87 miles per hour. Smirking slightly to himself, he accelerated, only to look up and see that his turn was quickly approaching. He sped into it and then turned-something that most likely would have been frowned upon in most driving schools- and pulled himself to a screeching halt.

He had turned into a gas station, which appeared to have been abandoned in the eighties. The radio was still blaring out some song that he had heard a hundred times but never cared to learn the name of. He just sat there, not really listening, for a couple of seconds, and then turned it down and turned off his Porsche and eased himself out of his car. Casually he leaned against it and let his eyes wander around the place without appearing too interested.

No one else was there, and the only light was coming from a lone street lamp that flickered an orange haze every fifteen seconds. He had figured he would arrive there first. She always had a knack for being late.

He looked down at the watch on his wrist and sighed, growing some what impatient. It was not that he had some where else to be, it was just that he valued his time as precious and hated to waste it on those who did not deserve it.

Right as he decided that he was going to give her three more minutes, a baby blue Mazda lazily pulled into the parking lot. He lifted himself off of his car and made his way toward the newest arrival.

When it parked a tall, seemingly graceful blonde stepped out. She wore her hair long and loose, and it danced across her bare shoulders. She turned and gave him a saucy smile.

"Hello, little brother."

"You, are late." He chided stepping toward her.

Her lips fell into a perfect pout and she shrugged her shoulders childishly. "Yes, well some things just can't be helped."

"Lyric, what am I doing here?" He knew that his sister loved to dance around the subject-lightly, as if playing a childish game- and if he didn't ask straightforward questions it would take him ages to get an answer.

Lyric pursed her lips together and beckoned him closer, though he found this ridiculous for they were the only two there. He gave in and leaned forward, rolling his eyes up to the sky as if looking for a way to deal with her. "I need you to get something to Stefan."

He immediately pulled back and started for his car, but Lyric was just as quick. She grabbed him by the arm and halted him in his tracks.

"Damon, stop, hear me out."

"I will not hear anything that has to do with him." He said curtly.

"Don't be so childish!"

Damon pulled his arm away and glared at Lyric. "I would not be throwing around that word if I were you."

She rolled her eyes and threw her hands to her hips. "Oh please, I can say it because I _am_ me. Now just listen. Remember Kris? Yes?"

He didn't answer but he knew she hadn't thought that he would.

"Well, there is no more Kris in my life, turns out he's scum. But he left me with another mouth to feed and frankly, I just can't feed it anymore."

Damon just stared at her for a moment, processing what she had just said, and then remarked snidely, "So birth control didn't work out the way you had planned? I'm surprised you even had it."

Lyric looked offended at his last words and yanked the door of her car open. "Of course I had it. Human life is important to me, even if's not for you."

Pretending as if she had not spoken at all he watched her as she began to take a car seat out from the backseat of her car.

"I still don't see my involvement in all of this."

She set the car seat on the pavement between them, Damon didn't even bother looking down, he just continued to stare down his sister. She seemed unperturbed and flipped her hair back, running her thin long fingers through it.

"Here's the deal, little bro. I can't take care of her anymore, and no one else is responsible enough, nor do I really trust any of you-except for Stefan."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And you, my dear brother, are the only one who knows where he is."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

She gave him a slow lofty smile. "Just by the fact that you are here. You are the only one who knows where we all are, you can't deny it."

He stared at her a moment longer and then drew back a little with a carefree chuckle. "Even if that is the case, for me to take it to him, would mean you have to trust me not to just leave it somewhere... or have a midnight snack.."

Lyric slammed the car door shut, which in turn made the baby start to cry. "You wouldn't dare."

He smirked and leered toward her. "Oh, I don't know... dare me."

They both ignored the crying child and stared at one another in such a way that two school children would in a game of 'don't blink'.

"You won't because you owe me that much."

"Owe you? For what?" He scoffed waving his hand dismissively.

Lyric caught the hand and paused as she looked down at the ring on Damon's finger. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

He did. And he realized that she was right. He yanked his hand back and twisted the ring on his finger. "Fine. I'll take it to him. But now we are even, do you hear me?"

Lyric smiled and giggled airily, "Of course. Here." She tossed him a diaper bag that she had taken out of the car along with the child. "That holds the last of the diapers, food, and some clothes." She bent down and picked up the still crying child in its car seat and started toward Damon's car.

He made his way to his Porsche as well and tossed the diaper bag in the back seat. "So what do you expect me to tell him?"

"Tell him He's the only one I trust her with-"

"Apparently not." He interrupted, gesturing to himself.

She continued on as if he hadn't spoken. "and to keep her safe, I might be back for her in a couple of years. Her name is Danielle, and she's six months. If he asks anymore questions, make them up. You know me well enough for the answers to be realistic."

She finished buckling in the child with her last word and then closed the door. Damon stayed half in his car, half out, and watched his sister as she walked away. He sighed and almost got back in when he heard Lyric speak one last time.

"Have you had any luck finding her?"

Damon paused and then slowly shook his head. "Would I be here if I did?"

Lyric looked at him with pity; a look that he hated. "Good luck, brother. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Damon closed the door and started his car. If she had anything more to say, he didn't want to hear it. Lyric may be his favorite sibling, but he did not need her words of sympathy.

He was Damon- known for being the strongest in the family-the most reckless- the only Vampire in this Human world. He did not need pity and from his sister least of all.

He looked over his shoulder at the baby who's crying had quieted down to a mere whimper. She caught his eyes with her large dark green ones and stopped making any noise all together.

"That's right." Damon remarked, nodding his head self importantly as if he told her to stop crying and she had complied. "Now just stay quiet until we reach Stefan and all will be well between us. Kay? We've got a long drive ahead of us."

Not waiting for an answer,because, honestly, if one thought a baby could answer they would be waiting around for a while, he sped out of the parking lot and began their ride to Mystic Falls.

He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the steering wheel, infuriated as he drove-the world moving past like a blur. Lyric's last words swirled around in his mind-"Have you had any luck finding her?"- " I hope you find what you're looking for."

He was angry, but not with Lyric-no-with himself. Five years; he had been searching for her for five years and had come up with nothing! He had just decided to take a break from looking- but now? Now his sister's words just seemed like a challenge to him. His sister had mentioned that he knew where they all were. That obviously wasn't all true if he couldn't even find Katherine.

Katherine. His blood began to boil at just the thought of her. He pressed down harder on the gas pedal and narrowed his eyes. How she had eluded him these past five years he just couldn't fathom.

The woman had taken him from his world. She had left him in a place where he was the only one of his kind. She had used him for her own personal gain. And yet... he had to find her. He still loved her-no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise.

Now there was this;having to go to Stefan of all people...

A new thought suddenly came to his mind and made Damon loosen his grip on the steering wheel and ease up on the gas. Perhaps having to take the baby to Stefan wouldn't be such a terrible thing. He had been avoiding him much longer than he had been looking for Katherine, but maybe Stefan was the answer. Maybe he had answers. Stefan had been the last one to see her after all.

He threw a glance back at the kid in the car seat. She was sleeping- he hoped anyway-it would be terribly inconsiderate if she died just when he found a use for her. Smirking, Damon switched his gaze back to the road. With a new goal in mind, Damon was suddenly very much anticipating this trip.

"This calls for a drink. What do you think, Danielle?" He was surprised when she began to cry;he could have sworn she had been asleep no more than thirty seconds ago. He didn't look back, just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Never mind then. I'll just stop for a bite when we get there." He reached down and turned his music up to mask the crying. Then he set his car to cruise control-a moderate 87-kicked his feet up and enjoyed the ride.


	2. 2 A Soft Peace

**A/N: First I would like to thank cold kagome for reviewing and JackWillisLover13 for putting this on their story alert. It means a lot to know I have people reading. Look! Another chapter! Usually I plan on one chapter a week-but I already had this one written and didn't want to wait any longer. XP Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review! Review's make my week. :)**

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><p>(Now)<p>

Stefan's POV

"Come on, please say you'll go to the game!"

Stefan looked down into the dark brown eyes, of his pleading girlfriend. She held his hand and swung their intertwined fingers back and forth. He couldn't help but smile and pull her closer to him.

"Since when do you want to go to a football game if you're not cheering?" He questioned as he tucked her shoulder under his arm, being careful of her wrist that she had sprained earlier in the week, and started walking.

She rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Just because I can't cheer tonight doesn't mean I wouldn't want to go...besides... Tyler is on the team and Caroline is making me. You will not make me go by myself will you?"

He laughed and shook his head. "I guess not."

They continued to walk down the halls of Mystic Falls High School as if they were attached to one another. Stefan smiled again, this time to himself. Since coming to this school in September as a new student, and having met the most perfect girl in the world, his life seemed to be soaring. He was the happiest he could ever remember being, and he owed it all to the girl at his side.

They stopped walking when they reached the class room and he looked down at her.

"Love you." He said, giving her a peck on the cheek. She smiled with her eyes and motioned with her head toward the classroom.

Stefan looked up to see the teacher, Mr. Saltzman, watching them rather amused. Stefan cleared his throat and straightened up. "Sorry about that, Mr. Saltzman." Beside him, he could tell his girlfriend was trying not to laugh at him.

"No worries, Mr. Salvatore, just please refrain from PDA outside my classroom. Ms. Gilbert."

"Coming, Mr. Saltzman." She pulled away from Stefan and winked at him as she made her way to her desk. "Don't forget, I have cheer-"

"Leading after school. I'll pick you up after for the game. I won't forget. Later, Elena."

She smiled and he smiled in reply.

As the rest of the students began to filter in, he made his way to his own class. He had just sat down when he heard his name being called. He looked up to see his friend, Matt.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked as his friend slid into his seat directly behind him. He turned in his chair to face him. Matt leaned across his desk and spoke.

"So I heard you're going to the game tonight."

"Word travels fast."

"I heard it through the grape vine. Elena told Caroline, who told Bonnie who told this guy." Matt waggled his thumbs at himself. "But that's not the point. The point is, are you on for a little pre-game party at your place."

Stefan had been ready to agree until he heard the words, "your place", then he hesitated. "Uh... I'm not sure if that's such a good idea..."

Matt groaned and rolled his eyes. "Really? Again? Come on, dude! No offense, but you're just getting annoying now. You have your own place, and you don't even put it to good use? You're just wasting space my friend."

Stefan shook his head at his friend's theatrics and sighed. "Well... maybe... if it's small. Just us."

"Of course! As long as you know that just us includes, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline and Jeremy."

Stefan smiled as he thought about Jeremy, Elena's younger brother. "Do you think he realizes it that every time we get together we set him up with Bonnie?"

The two of them, with some help from Elena and Caroline had been trying to match Bonnie with Jeremy since they all had met. It was obvious to everyone that they had a thing for each other-except maybe Jeremy.

"Dude, I don't think he'd realize it even if she went up to him and asked him out herself."

They shared a laugh, then quieted down as class had just begun. However, he had a hard time concentrating on whatever his teacher was saying.

A party, at his house? House wasn't even the right word for what he lived in. It was nothing short of a mansion. He was pretty sure he hadn't even been in all the rooms yet, nor did he plan on it. He still considered it a temporary living space as he had with all of the rest of the places he had been this past year. Even though this was it. This was where he was going to stay now-and probably the rest of his life-unless his relatives finally found a loop hole in his fathers will. But he seriously doubted it.

So, it wasn't that he didn't have space to hold a party, no, it was quite the opposite. It might have been the fact that he still felt like a stranger in the house, even if he was the only one there. That might have been the reason, he just wasn't sure.

Stefan looked up to see that the teacher had written something on the board and others around him were scrambling to copy it into a notebook so he quickly followed suit. No matter what it was that bothered him about having guests, he would just have to deal with it. He had been putting off the inevitable long enough. They were coming over and that was that.

(~~~~)

"I still can't believe you said yes." Elena said, leaning over the counter of the island that had its place in the middle of the kitchen.

Stefan shrugged as he began to slice pieces of cheese for the get together that was to take place at his house in less than five minutes. "Well... it was time, I guess. Could you grab the crackers from the cupboard, please?"

She nodded and turned, her silky brown hair swinging back and forth in its pony tail. He paused and watched her as she moved. Elena was a cheerleader-one of the best at their school even if she wasn't cheering tonight due to a sprained wrist-and she always seemed to walk on tip toe, as if she were forever ready to run forward and jump into a handspring.

She grabbed the box of crackers and came back, blushing when she caught him staring at her. "What?" She asked self-consciously, looking down at her clothing, trying to see if there was a problem.

He shook his head at her. "Nothing, you're fine."

Elena made an amused noise and lay the snacks out on a tray. "It just seems... random."

"What does?" He asked, slightly confused.

"You suddenly letting everyone come over."

"Oh. Well... Matt's been bugging me for a while... and it won't be long-20 minutes at most..." He trailed off. "Do you think it was a bad idea?"

"Oh, no!" She leaned forward again and placed her hand on top of his, halting the knife. He looked up at her and they locked eyes. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable. I know you're still not used to being here and... I'm mothering you again, aren't I." She sighed, as if annoyed with herself, and pulled back.

Stefan laughed, trying to make her feel more at ease, and put the knife down. "No, you're just being a good friend. I-" He was cut off when there was a loud pounding noise emitting from the front door.

Elena jumped and placed her hand on her chest. "Just about gave me a heart attack. If that's Matt-"

The two of them raced to the door;Elena got there first and opened it. Matt, Bonnie, Caroline, and Jeremy all stood at the door. Stefan breathed in; the party had started.

(~~~)

Fifteen minutes later everyone had settled down in the library-which was also the main sitting room-the gossip of the day had been heard, and the jokes about Jeremy's long hair had all but ceased.

"I still can't believe that this is all yours." Matt was stretched out on a leather sofa in front of an unlit fireplace that was taller than Stefan himself.

He looked around and shrugged as he set down another tray of snacks-Matt had basically devoured the first one on his own. "Honestly, me neither."

The three girls were all sitting together on another couch. Elena reached for a snack as Caroline spoke up.

"So, how is this yours anyway?"

"Caroline..." Elena put a warning tone into her voice and apologetically looked up at Stefan, who now sat on the arm of the couch beside her.

"What?" The blonde protested looking around helplessly.

Stefan gave her a small smile and supplied an answer for her. "My father died a couple of years ago and left everything he had to me."

"Yeah, and his dad was like a trillionaire or something!" Matt chimed in.

Stefan winced slightly, but no one seemed to notice. "Yes, well, I sold a lot of his things that I had no use for, and put the money in the bank. Basically all that I kept was this house."

He didn't say why he kept it. He didn't say it was because it was the only place that wasn't tainted with bad memories, that it was the only place that he had felt even remotely safe. He said nothing.

"Wow." was all Caroline could say as she ate her cheese and cracker. She looked over at Jeremy across the room who was looking through a book shelf.  
>"Hey, watcha find over there?"<p>

He looked up and squinted at her, throwing a look at Bonnie beside her. "Some classics. Books and music. Your dad must have been a collector, Stefan."

Stefan nodded. "Yeah, whatever he could get his hands on."

"I wanna check it out!" Caroline practically jumped off the couch and was at the boy's side in seconds.

Bonnie checked her watch and then spoke to the group, "We should probably head over soon, so Caroline and I aren't late. Besides you guys wouldn't want to miss the kick off, would you?"

Matt chuckled and tossed a pillow in her direction. "How do you know what a kick off is?"

Bonnie made a face and whipped the pillow back at him. "Give me a break, are we still going to go with the 'Girl's shouldn't know anything about football' routine? I'm a cheerleader. You have to know what's what about the stupid game if you want football player, isn't that right... Caroline."

The room laughed at that one. All except for Caroline who had pulled a book from the shelf and gotten distracted by something that had fallen out. She leaned over and picked it up.

She examined it, whistled lowly and looked at it even more closely. "Who is this hunk?"

"A hunk? I wanna see!" Bonnie got up and went to her friend's side, as Jeremy slowly backed away.

Stefan got up as well, a worry crease settling to his forehead.

"Wowie. Stefan, you never told us you knew such a stud."

Stefan was at the girls' side in seconds and Caroline handed him the picture, both girls eagerly awaiting to find out who it was in the picture. Stefan looked down and his immediate thought was to throw the picture into the fireplace and a match a long with it.

"Well?" Caroline badgered.

"I don't know."

"Whaat?" The girls cried disappointingly.

Stefan pulled his gaze away from the picture and shrugged his shoulders trying to appear nonchalant.

"But isn't that you? I mean you look much younger, but I'm guessing it has to be you." Bonnie asked.

"Yes, it's me," He answered without even looked at it. "But I honestly can't remember who that is. Judging by my hair cut there, I have to be at least eight." He had been exactly eight. The picture had been taken at his birthday party.

"Darn!" Caroline cried and took the picture from a distracted Stefan's hands and skipped over to Elena to show her the picture. Elena looked it over and smiled.

"You look adorable there."

He forced a smile on his face and swore to himself that the person in the picture was not going to ruin his day. Not now, not ever again. "Come on, guys, let's go to that game."

(~~~~)

Despite what he had said about not letting the person in the picture ruin his day, Stefan couldn't stop thinking about the incident. Why had the picture been in a book? One of his fathers book! It didn't make any sense to him. He thought that his mother had destroyed all the pictures before she had left. Apparently not.

Maybe it had been a book from one of the old houses. He had transferred all of the books to this house, deciding to fill the huge library rather than leave it bare and lonely. Maybe the picture had been in the book for years, being used as a bookmark. Maybe...

"Popcorn?"

Stefan jumped in his seat and cried out in alarm. He heard laughter all around him. He looked up and saw Elena holding a small bag of popcorn. She swept her gaze over him, slightly concerned, as she sat beside him.

Behind him Matt was still laughing and he placed his hand on Stefan's shoulder to keep himself steady. "Dude, your reaction was priceless! Distracted much?"

Stefan forced a chuckle and shrugged, "Yeah.. I guess..."

Matt didn't reply because his attention was back at the game where someone had obviously scored a touch down. Cheers arose all around him, but Stefan was barely aware. Matt was dead on with the distracted comment.

Stefan felt a hand on his elbow, but was mindful enough to realize it was just Elena. He turned to her. "Yes?"

Puzzled, she looked at him and shook her head. She opened her mouth as if she were about to shout to be heard over all the noise, but then changed her mind and leaned in closer to him so that she was talking into his ear.

"Are you okay?" She pulled back, worry in her eyes.

This was one of the reasons he loved her so much. Any other girl would have laughed right along with the group when he had jumped, but she knew him well enough to know better. She always seemed to be able to tell when he was upset. However, this time he couldn't tell her that he was bothered. It was silly anyway, and there was nothing she could do about it.  
>So he leaned into her this time and replied. "I'm fine. Maybe just a bit tired."<p>

Elena looked him over one more time, smiled softly and hooked her arm through his. She leaned against him and reverted her attention to the game.  
>Taking a deep breath trying to calm himself, willing himself to forget about the picture, Stefan also looked out at the field, and cheered like everyone else.<p>

(~~~)

"Woooh!" Matt cheered.

Stefan and Elena gave a whoop back and then laughed as they got into Stefan's car. The night air was chilly, so he turned up the heat and remarked on how he would have to put a fire on when he got home.

Elena settled into the front seat and wrapped the blanket that he had given her earlier in the night tighter around her. She was quite for a moment, still breathing rather hard from cheering and the race they had to the car. Finally she spoke. "Do you think I could come over for a while? I could get a ride home..."

Stefan didn't answer for a moment as he drove. Elena had only been to his house a couple of times after dark since they had started dating two months ago. He always felt like it was wrong because there were no adults present, though she never seemed to mind.

She had told him that she knew what an empty house felt like. Her parents where also dead, and she lived with her aunt Jenna and Jeremy. But Jenna took classes at the local college and worked so she was barely home. She had said she understood what it was like to feel lonely. She had made herself available when ever he felt he needed her. However, he had rarely taken her up on the offer-it felt strange.

Tonight though? Tonight he was just worried that he would take her to his house and never want her to leave. His mind had been in so may different places at once earlier. Trying to be respondent to his friends while every once in a while getting swept up in a thought of the past. He didn't want to go home by himself with the danger of those thoughts coming back and haunting him all night.

"Sure, but I'll take you home too."

Elena smiled and just pulled the blanket even tighter.

When he pulled into his drive way the first thing that grabbed his attention was that there was another car in his driveway. The second thing was the light coming from the library where he and his friends had been earlier that night.

He got out of the car slowly and Elena followed him, puzzled.

"Were you expecting someone?"

He wasn't sure how to answer her without freaking her out. He never expected anyone. "No, but maybe it's one of my aunts or uncles dropping by..."

"Do you recognize the car?"

"Well..."

"Maybe they got a new one?"

He could hear panic rising in her voice, and she grabbed his hand. He didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to frighten her. "Yeah, possibly. Maybe they called and I missed the message." He took her hand and tried to act casual as he headed up to his house. "I mean... who else could it be?" Her only reply was to squeeze his fingers tighter.

That thought, however, raced through his mind. Who else could it be? A burglar wouldn't park his car in the driveway and make himself at home. Any one of his friends would have called him, right?

Stefan opened his front door and cautiously entered the house, pulling Elena along behind him. "Hello? Anyone here? Uncle Zack?" He moved toward the library. The light itself were flames from the fireplace. He stopped abruptly, Elena bumping into his arm, when he saw the back of a head on the leather couch in front of him.

His heart almost stopped. It definitely wasn't Uncle Zack, he was bald, this person had dark hair, that appeared thick. Stefan's mind slowly began to put his thoughts together and his mouth became dry. He almost wished it was a burglar.

The figure rose out of the chair and turned. He was holding the picture that Caroline had found earlier that night. The picture that had been haunting him all evening. A smirk was on his face and the light from the fire was casting shadows on his face giving him an even more ghoulish feature.

"Hello, baby brother."

Standing in front of him was the young man from the picture, who was, without a doubt, exactly the same as he had always had been. His brother-Damon.


	3. 3 Changing Pace

**A/N: First off I would like to thank 'Daughter of Chaos 98', 'cold kagome' and 'elvalove' for reviewing! Also to everyone who faved or story alerted this story. It means a lot to me! XD Okay, now for this chapter. I am still a bit confused with myself in this story because I changed ages and stuff... so to clarify right now I made Stefan and Damon nine years apart. Hopefully everything is spelled right. I sometimes miss my misspelled words when I do my rereads. Bleh. Anywho, I hope you like this chapter! If you have any ideas for where I should go with this story let me know! I have a loose plot and any ideas would be welcome. XD Oh, I almost forgot. I have flashbacks... so you know.**

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><p>(Then)<p>

Stefan's POV

_He awoke to shouting. This was a normal occurrence in the house. Either Mother with Damon, Father with Damon, either of the twins and Damon... basically anyone Damon encountered could basically guarantee to end up in an argument with him sooner or later._

_So the shouting he was used to. It was what was with the shouting that Stefan had not heard often in the house. Crying. And a lot of it, but he was not sure who it belonged to._

_He slid out of bed and his small feet padded across the carpeted floor. He peered out of his bedroom door but saw nothing so continued. He listened closely and jumped when he heard his mother shout extra loud. He walked even faster._

_He went down the stair case and paused at the landing. He looked around the corner and saw his mother, still wearing her robe, her face streaked with tears and her eyes bloodshot. Damon was standing opposite of her, so Stefan could not see his older brothers face, but by the way he held his body, Stefan could tell that Damon was angry. His hands were in fists and his body rigid._

_The twins stood farther away, Brooklyn leaning on Ryder for support. They too had tear stained faces.  
>"Mother?"<br>His mother looked up, alarm in her eyes, and she made as if she were going to come to him. "No, Stefan, go back upstairs!"  
>But before she could come to him, or he could even obey her, Damon was standing behind him, one arm around his waist another with his head in a lock. Stefan was too startled to struggle and just stood there, shocked.<br>His mother, however, had a different reaction. She shrieked and dashed forward.  
>"What!" Damon growled. "You think I'll kill him too?" Those words sent a shiver down Stefan's spine.<br>"Damon..." He whimpered; Damon just made his grip tighter.  
>"Of course! You are messed up, who knows what you would do!" Mother was almost at the base of the stairs now, and she was holding out her arms as if Stefan should fall, she would catch him.<br>"Damon, he has nothing to do with this, let him go." Ryder pleaded, sharing a glance with Brooklyn.  
>His older brothers arm loosened around his head as he was surprised by the twins words. "Nothing to do with this? Don't be blind, Ryder, EVERYTHING, is about him! Don't you understand?"<br>Stefan didn't understand what was going on. He knew he wasn't Damon's favorite person, but it had always been the two of them for everything for as long as he could remember. Ryder and Brooklyn had each other, and he had Damon. But now... he had never once been this scared of his brother, or anything else in his life.  
><em> _ Stefan saw his mother straighten up then and her eyes grew steely.  
>"I knew it was a mistake to keep you al-"<br>The arm went around his neck this time. "You know I could twist his neck in two seconds flat."  
>Before anything else could be said or done by either of them a new voice chimed in. It was one that Stefan was only slightly familiar with, for Damon's girlfriend rarely ever came around the house.<br>"Damon," The voice was heavily sweet. He couldn't see her but he could smell her. Her perfume was heavy in the air and it made him a little dizzy.  
>"Let your baby brother go. Come on, there you go..."<br>Stefan ran into his mothers arms as soon as he was released, but she wasn't interested in an embrace, not yet. She still stood __there, now looking at Damon with a smug expression, knowing that she had won this battle. Stefan, not understanding, tugged on his mothers sleeve, wanting her to shield him for protection. Protection from the brother who had never threatened him in such a way before. Shield him from the girl who could control someone like him. But she didn't.  
>So he watched. He watched as Katherine took Damon's arm and slowly led him out of the house. Watched as his mother stalked to the door and bolted it shut. Watched as Brooklyn collapsed into Ryder's arms crying.<br>The whole time he watched he noticed something. Someone wasn't there. Someone hadn't been there the whole time._

_"Where's Father?"_

(Now)

Damon's POV

When he pulled up to the mansion, no one was there, but the door was not bolted shut, so he easily picked the lock and made himself at home. He set the baby to the side, as it had finally fallen asleep, and decided to start a fire.

He instantly adored the fire place. It was about his height and cast great shadows from the flickering flames. It was the only light he used as he made his way around the room, snooping through whatever was lying around.

He came to a pause when he saw a picture sitting on a table stand. He picked it up and moved closer to the fire to examine it. A bemused expression came to his face as he looked it up and down. The picture was of him and baby brother Stefan, nine years before.

Stefan had his arm around him, a huge grin that revealed that he had lost his two front teeth at the same time. Damon himself had a hand resting on his brothers head as if he had just finished tousling his hair, a crooked smile on his face.

Why would this picture be out lying about? He shrugged to himself and then plopped down on the leather couch directly facing the fire, and waited.  
>He didn't have to wait long. Maybe half an hour later, Damon heard a car pull into the drive way. He listened as the car door closed and was a bit surprised to hear two. He smirked just a bit at the fact his brother might have company.<p>

The front door opened and he heard his brother calling for some random person. He waited a bit more until he heard breathing behind him. Then he stood slowly and turned around, dangling the picture of the two of them from his fingers.

Before he said anything he took in the scene before him. His baby brother, not much of a baby anymore, gripping the hand of face that he knew. _Katherine. _  
>His first instinct was to lounge at her and rip her pretty little head from her body, but something made him take pause. It was a sound. A beating. A heart.<p>

The pretty brunette girl-who seemed perplexed if anything else- had a heart, that was beating.  
>So not Katherine. But how- He stopped he would think about that later. For now he had to act normal-not as if he had seen the human form of his- of Katherine.<p>

He pulled himself together and smirked just a bit and then spoke, "Hello, Baby Brother."

Stefan opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out not-Katherine spoke. "Isn't he the guy in the picture?"

Damon's smirk became a grin and he looked sideways at the picture in his hand, and then brought it closer to his face as if he wanted a better look.

"Why, yes it is! How very observant of you..." He trailed off waiting for her to supply her name. But before she could Stefan found his words.

"Get out. Right now."

Damon frowned playfully and shook his head. "Really now? Must you be so rude, I just got here, and I brought you a gift."

"I don't want anything you have."

He made a noise with his mouth and shook his head slowly. "Well, see the thing is, the only reason I'm here is to give it to you. I'm just the deliverer, shall we say."

"Wait- Hold up." The girl let go of Stefan's hand and threw both of her hands into the air as if she were about to stop an oncoming car. "I don't understand. I thought you said you didn't know who was in the picture. Who is he?" She looked at Stefan for an answer.

Damon did too, amused at what was unfolding, and crossed his arms intrigued.

Stefan seemed to be having trouble trying to find the right words to say. "He... I... I don't know him anymore. He was someone I wish I didn't know." He looked down, searching her eyes, trying to convey an apology without really speaking.

Damon decided that this was all going at much too slow of a pace so he offered, "I'm Damon. Stefan's older brother. Black sheep of the family, if you know what I mean. And you are?" He stuck out his hand across the couch, but the girl just eyed it more perplexed than ever.

"I'm El-"

"She's just leaving." Stefan interrupted. He turned her away and started whispering to her. Damon stood still and inclined his ear to the conversation.

"Stefan, what is going on?"

"Just take my car keys okay? Drive yourself home, I can pick it up tomorrow before school. I just need you to leave."

"Why can't you just tell me whats going on? What is he talking about? You said you were an only child."

"Ooh, so my little brother has been denying my existence? I would say how sad, but let's be truthful, I've been doing the same thing." Damon shrugged when they both looked over at him, slightly annoyed. "What? You know I can still hear you when you turn your backs to me."

Stefan just continued talking and Damon rolled his eyes. "Please, I promise I will tell you everything as soon as I can, okay?"

She looked up at him with a frown on her face. "Promise?"

"Promise."

She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder. Damon caught her gaze and waggled his fingers in her direction. She looked away and took the keys from Stefan and then left quickly.

"Aw! Come on, really? You just had to send her away? She is one of the best looking things I've seen in, like, at least a week. How did you score something like her?"

Stefan whirled around and stomped right up to him so the only thing between them was the couch. "What the hell do you want?"

"Ooh.. feisty, aren't we?"

Stefan leaned closer and spoke through gritted teeth. "Stop. If you have a point to being here, get to it."

"Before we get to that, why the hell does that chick look like _Her?"  
><em>

Stefan stared at his older brother blankly. "What?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about."

Stefan slowly shook his head. "No... I don't."

Damon could feel his patience wain by the second. "Katherine! Why does she look like Katherine?"

Stefan still looked lost and Damon had a sudden urge to strangle him. "Katherine...? I don't know what-" Suddenly realization came to his face and his eyes widen. He looked over his shoulder as if his girlfriend would still be standing there, and then looked back at Damon. "I... never realized... I mean..." He tried to compose himself. "Damon, the last time I saw her was when I was twelve. I didn't even realize..."

He stopped and shook his head. "This is all beside the point, though, isn't it."

Damon examined his brother through the light of the fire and cocked his head to the side. He hadn't seen his brother face to face since he had left when Stefan was ten. Now at seventeen his brothers hair, which had been white blonde, was now a more golden color, and he was almost the same height as he was. His face looked tired, as if he hadn't gotten a good sleep in a long time. And Damon was just about to make that all even worse.

He sighed-deciding to drop the Katherine subject for now-and dropped the picture that he had been holding the whole time and walked over to where the sleeping child still sat in her car seat. "Fine, you dragged it out of me."

Stefan's eyes followed him suspiciously and then, cautiously, he followed him. His eyes grew round when he saw the baby. He quickly looked up at Damon accusingly.

Damon threw his hands in the air, "Hey, it's not mine! It's Lyric's. Well, now it's yours, but I guess since Lyric said she may come back for it... maybe it's a fifty fifty ownership deal?"

Stefan seemed unable to comprehend what he was saying. "What's mine?"

"The baby."

"What?"

"Lyric said that she can no longer take care of it."

"So she's giving it-him-her- to me?"

"Her. Yes."

Stefan knelt down beside the baby and then looked up at his brother. "Why?"

Damon shrugged nonchalantly and crossed his arms over his chest. "She told me that you are the only one of us she trusts."

Stefan looked down at the baby again, as he slowly stood. "I can't take care of a baby! I'm seventeen, I'm still in high school!"

"So," Damon started, "lots of kids do it."

"Yeah, because they have to!" He had raised his voice there and woke the baby. She started to cry pitifully.

"And now, so do you. Come on. You're rich, hire it a nanny, or something."

Stefan shook his head at him as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I don't understand. Why are you here, and not Lyric?"

Damon paused, but only for a moment. "Oh, you know our sister-ever the flighty childish character, pretty much only cares about herself-"

"I thought you were trying to describe Lyric, not yourself."

Damon smirked, though his eyes became steely. "Very funny, baby brother. I'm the one being the stork because I'm apparently the only one who knew where you were. Though I understand her on that ground, you have been moving around a lot- maybe you're running from something...?"

Stefan didn't answer that. "So she just expects me to take care of her daughter until she feels like coming back for her?"

"Yep, that's the plan-could you make the thing stop screaming?" Damon could no longer take the high pitch noise emitting from the infants mouth.

Stefan bent down once again and released her from her bindings and then straightened back up holding her so her head rested on his shoulder, as he had seen people do in movies. Still she screamed as if she were in some sort of danger.

"What's her name? If our sister was responsible enough to give her one."

"Ha. Danielle."

Stefan started bouncing just a little, trying to get her to calm down. "Shhh.. Danielle, come on, it's okay..." He said soothingly.

"Really? That's how you get people to stop crying?"

Stefan shot him a dirty look. "It's how you get babies to stop crying! Augh- maybe's she's hungry, when was the last time- oh never mind, take her."

Damon was startled when he put the baby in his arms. He held her awkwardly and looked down at her even more startled when he realized something. Apparently Stefan realized it the same time because he was back in the room in flash.

"Did she just stop-"

"Yes."

Danielle was silent in his arms looking up at him through tear heavy eyelashes. He looked back down at her slightly disgusted.

Stefan slowly began to back out of the room again. "Um..."

"It has a diaper bag thingy right there."

Stefan picked it up and said, "I'll make her something. You just keep...holding her."

Damon frowned, but then lifted his gaze and looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Does this mean you don't want me to leave?"

Stefan didn't not answer and Damon shrugged to himself and shifted the babies weight in his arms and made his way to sit on the couch. As he sat there he was brought back to the last time he had held a baby...

(Then)

Damon's POV

"_He's so cute!" Lyric chirped, leaning over and giving the baby a kiss on the head.  
><em>

_Chloe looked down at the baby and shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so."  
><em>

_"What do you think, Damon?" Lyric asked, pulling her brother up beside her to peer down at the baby in the cradle.  
><em>

_He made a face as he looked down at the baby. He had white wisps of hair and large dark blue eyes. His face was not red as Chloe and Lyric had said the twins had been. They both had recalled Brooklyn and Ryder to be the most ugly babies they had ever seen.  
><em>

_Damon, however, did not want to admit that he too thought the baby was not all that bad looking so he made a face. "I think __he's ugly."  
><em>

_Chloe laughed, but Lyric gasped and flicked her little brother in the head. Damon moaned and rubbed the spot.  
><em>

_"Don't let mother hear you say that. She thinks Stefan has been sent down from the god's to grace us with his presence."  
><em>

_Chloe laughed again, and even Damon had to smile at that. It never failed; for when ever he felt down, it was usually Lyric to pick him back up, even if her designated sibling best friend was Chloe.  
><em>

_He looked down at his baby brother again and sighed. He guessed Stefan would have to be his designated sibling best friend, even if they were nine years apart and he already wasn't fond of the way that all he had to do was look up at somebody with those big blue eyes and his wish was their command.  
><em>

_"Hey, do you want to hold him?"  
><em>

_Damon looked up at Lyric as if she were crazy. "Why would I want to do that?"  
><em>

_Lyric shrugged as she scooped Stefan into her arms. "Well you didn't hold either of the twins and who knows, you might need the practice if mother decides six just isn't enough."  
><em>

_Chloe looked at if she may be sick at the the thought and put her hands to her head. "Oh please, don't even joke about that."  
><em>

_Damon agreed. "Yeah, besides, she has Stefan now, why would she want more?"  
><em>

_Lyric rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, neither of you can take a joke. Anyway, here." She placed their baby brother in his arms.  
><em>

_Stefan gurgled and waved his hands in the air. Damon winced and sniffed the air around him. "He's smells funny."  
><em>

_"He's a baby, that's what they do."  
><em>

_It got quiet as his sisters came closer and looked at Stefan over his shoulders. His brother was heavier than he thought he was going to be, and squirmed a lot more too.  
><em>

_He was just about to comment on that when he heard a booming voice from behind him. Startled, he jumped and dropped his arms, and the baby that had been in __them._

_The next couple of seconds were the longest and most terrifying that he had ever experienced in his short nine years. The second of the fall, and realization that he had dropped Stefan, followed by the second of the thud, and then ending with the seconds waiting for a sound.  
><em>

_When at last Stefan started to scream was when everyone seemed to unfreeze. The figure belonging to the booming voice rushed into the room and picked up Stefan. A moment later his mother came running into the room.  
><em>

_"What happened?"  
><em>

_"That thing was holding our son!" The man holding Stefan cried, trying to sooth his son. "And then dropped him, get the phone, we have to call 911."  
><em>

_Chloe already had her cell phone out and handed it to the man. "Here, Giuseppe." She said calmly.  
><em>

_He snatched it away from her and gave their mother Stefan, hurrying out of the room so he could be heard over the screaming. But right before he left he called over his shoulder, "Claudia, if you don't deal your son, I will."  
><em>

_Claudia whipped around to face Damon, who was still standing there rather stunned. "What the hell is wrong with you! I know your mad, and you think the only reason we moved here is because of Stefan, so you have some sort of vendetta against him, but for heaven's sake he's just a baby, Damon!"  
><em>

_Damon looked up with desperation in his eyes. "I didn't do it on purpose! Giuseppe sc-"  
><em>

_"No excuses. As soon as we come back from the hospital..." She trailed off as Stefan's screaming became louder.  
><em>

_Tears began to well up in Damon's eyes, which made him angry. He had not cried since they moved, and that was almost a year ago! He was not a baby! Yet... he couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes. He fell into the arms of Lyric who was still standing beside him.  
><em>

_She instantly wrapped him in her arms and tried to soothe him. "It's okay, it's not your fault! These things happen!"  
><em>

_Damon just hugged her tighter and rested his head on her shoulder, now wet with tears. He saw Chloe out of the corner of his eye. "Chloe," He spoke up, " Chloe, tell mother it wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to drop him, you know that!"  
><em>

_He pulled away slightly from Lyric and they both turned to look at their older sister. She was staring at the wall, not really at them, and was acting as if she hadn't heard a word he had said.  
><em>

_"Chloe...?"  
><em>

_"Damon, just let it go. If anyone needs me I'll be in my room."  
><em>

_He watched as she walked past them and out of the room. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened there. Lyric pulled him close again and kissed his head. _

_"Don't worry, I'll talk to mother. It will be okay. I promise."_

(Now)  
>Damon's POV<p>

He suddenly no longer wanted to be holding that baby. He looked around and decided the best place for her was the floor, so he set her down gently and then settled back in the couch. Within seconds the crying began again. He clenched his teeth and looked up at the ceiling as if looking for answers.

"Really?"

"Hey, what did you do to her?" He heard an accusing voice from the other room. His gaze switched toward the kitchen and he narrowed his eyes. "Nothing. Yet."

"Then why is she crying?"

"I don't know, I don't speak baby."

Stefan reentered the room with a bottle and saw the baby on the floor. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and did not say a word as he picked her up and tried to stick the bottle in her mouth. She would turn her mouth away with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You know those tears are completely fake, don't you. You used to pull that trick all the time-"

"Could we not reminisce on the past, please." Stefan snapped.

Damon lifted his arms in a mock surrender and slowly stood. "Whoa. No need to blow a fuse, I can see when I'm not wanted and personally I don't..."  
>He trailed off, for Danielle had noticed him and now held her arms out desperately trying to escape Stefan's grasp.<p>

"What is it doing?"

"She wants you." Stefan said thoroughly annoyed.

Damon rolled his eyes and then put his face into hers. "Yeah? Well get in line." Still crying she reached for his nose.

Stefan pulled her back and frowned. "Really?"

He shrugged. "What?"

Stefan sighed. "Never mind, I can not hear myself think over this crying-take her back."

"I don't want to take her back I-"

"I meant hold her!"

"So did I!"

"Oh for heaven's sake." Stefan turned his back on him and tried to sooth her.

Damon watched for a moment, and then headed for the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Damon paused, only steps from the door. "Away. That's what you told me to do when I got here. I did what Lyric asked, and now I'm done." He began walking again, hoping that Stefan would stop him. He had to for his plan to work. To be able to stay and to find any signs of Katherine... and now to figure out why his kid brothers girl looked just like her.

"Just-wait."

Damon faked a sigh and looked up at the ceiling, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor until Stefan was standing beside him with a still crying child.

"I am going to regret saying this... but I need you to stay. At least until tomorrow night and- Could you please hold her!" He held her out and Damon looked at her for a moment and then resignedly took her from his arms. Her crying ceased in seconds.

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying. I'm going to need you to stay at least until tomorrow night or until I find out what to do about her."

Damon pretended to contemplated this for a moment. He had to make it look as if it was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew Stefan too well. If it looked as if Damon wanted to stay-he would kick him out for sure.

Finally Damon said, "What about the whole, me leaving idea? Cause I kinda like that one better. And, I thought you didn't trust me."

Stefan narrowed his eyes at him. "You are apparently the only one of the two of us who can get her to stop crying, and you are the only of us who does not have school tomorrow, which makes you the perfect candidate. And, this is Lyric's baby. I don't trust you as far as I could throw you, but if she does, that's her loss."

Damon shook his head in mock sadness. "And here Lyric had said that you were responsible, and what do you do as your first line of action? You put a monster in charge of a baby."

Stefan just stood there, apparently waiting for an answer.

Damon looked down at the baby again. She looked up at him with her dark green eyes contently. He smirked ever so slightly. He loved this baby! He knew she was the perfect plan to get him to stay. The fact that Danielle seemed to be more comfortable with him would probably grate on him in a couple of hours, but it would all be worth it in the long run. Plus he hadn't slept in a house in what felt like forever, though he wouldn't admit that to Stefan.

He looked at the ring on his finger and then slid that hand under the baby as so Stefan wouldn't see it and have some kind of fit. "Sure. Whatever. But just so you know, I expect the going rate for a well paid babysitter, $7 an hour."

Stefan narrowed his eyes, shaking his head slowly he spoke. "You know. Just because you're going to be nineteen forever, does not mean you have to have the same maturity level forever."


	4. 4 A Whispered Question

**A/N: I got my computer back! So this chapter is up earlier than I thought it was going to be! XD So to begin with I would like to thank** **'cold kagome' for reviewing and everyone who put this on story alert or favorites! It makes my day when I see these! Okay then, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I kinda raise more questions than I answer-but they will be answered... someday... Please review and let me know what you think! I hope there are no mistakes.. but I can't make any promises.**

* * *

><p>(Now)<p>

Elena's POV

"He told me to take his car and drive myself home and than he would explain himself today. I just don't understand." Elena ranted to Bonnie as she walked up the front steps the the school. "And then he didn't come to get his car this morning, and now look- he's no where in sight!"

Bonnie looked around and then said, "Well... he does have to walk..."

Elena groaned and shoved her friend lightly as they walked through the school doors. "Come on, Bonnie, be serious. I don't know what to do!"

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know... but... maybe it's just none of your business... or," She thought quickly when she saw the disbelieving face on her friend. "Maybe he has a big deep dark terrible secret that he has never told anyone before, and now the FBI are looking for him and-"

"I'm not talking to you." Elena said and walked faster.

"No, come on, I'm sorry!" Bonnie ran to catch up with her. Elena let her. Bonnie began to speak again, but this time she was not listening. What worried her most about her visit to Stefan's last night was the desperation in his voice as he told her to leave. He sounded truly scared for her. But why would he be scared?

And who was that guy-who had said he was his brother? Maybe she was just reading to much into it. Maybe he was a close friend from his old town and they were like brothers. Though that still wouldn't explain the desperation... though maybe she had imagined it all.

Elena sighed and voiced goodbye as she parted ways with Bonnie and turned into her classroom. She waited by the door, hoping he would show up right before the bell rang. Even Mr. Saltzman looked out the door every couple seconds and asked, "What? No PDA this morning?"

Finally she had to go to her seat, and she did so begrudgingly. She barely paid attention as Mr. Saltzman spoke, or any of her other teachers from the next three classes. Finally it was Chemistry, which was a class they shared-they were even lab partners.

When she walked into class her first reaction was her stomach plummeting to the floor as she noticed, there was no Stefan. She walked over to the counter she usually shared with him and tried not to show that she was upset he wasn't there.

She sat in her chair and moved the safety goggles that sat on the table back and forth a bit. She was so engrossed with not making eye contact with anyone that she did not notice that some one had sat beside her until disembodied hands stole the goggles away from her.

She looked up, startled. But that reaction was soon replaced with relief. "Stefan, where have you been?" She talked in a low whisper for the teacher had just began to speak.

He leaned his head closer to hers as if to look at something he was showing her and whispered. "Sorry I didn't catch you this morning, I was five minutes late to my first class. And just now I got stopped in the hall by Matt."

Elena let out a breath that she didn't realize that she had been holding. "I thought something bad might have happened..." She admitted.

He smiled at her, though she could tell it was forced, and answered. "No, everything's..." He trailed off as if trying to find the right word to say. "Everything will be fine."  
>She couldn't help but be a bit skeptical at his words. "Are we still going talk later?"<br>He hesitated and and looked her in the eyes. She loved his eyes, they were the brightest green she had ever seen and seemed to twinkle all the time. Except right now. "Yes. Later."

They then continued the class acting as if everything was alright. But then, she thought to herself, maybe everything is alright and I'm just paranoid.

The rest of the school day was like Chemistry class. They walked and laughed together, sat with their friends at lunch and acted like everything was just fine. Then when school let out at 2:15 they walked out of the building with Matt, Bonnie, and Caroline and headed for the Mystic Grill for a bite.

Now while Elena enjoyed being with her friends, this day she wished they would all eat quickly and not request anymore after school activities. It seemed Bonnie could tell that she was distracted because after fifteen minutes she looked at her watch and then pulled on Matt's arm.

"Matt, can you take Care and me to the mall, please?" She turned to look at Elena, "You have something going on after this, right?"

Elena had never been more grateful to her friend in her life. She hoped that her gratitude showed through her eyes. "Yes, I do, and Stefan was going to drop me off, right?" She glanced at him and saw that he was smiling and rolling his eyes at her.

He stood and grabbed his jacket. "Yeah, we better start going."

"Us too!" Bonnie cried pulling a confused Matt to his feet.

"I didn't agree to anything!"

"Uh huh, let's go."

The girl's hugged as they departed for the weekend and Stefan and Matt gave each other casual nods. Then Elena and Stefan headed to his car and when they were right outside it they both paused. Stefan was looking down at the ground, and Elena couldn't really read his expression. She was just silent as she waited for him.

Finally he got into his car and she did the same. He drove in silence until they came to a place that she knew very well. It was the small childrens park behind the library-she had spent most of her childhood in that park with Bonnie, Caroline, Matt and Jeremy.

He parked the car and then exited, coming to her side to open her door and escort her out. She smiled at him as he took her hand and continued to hold it as he led her to the park swings.

The park was pretty vacant for a Friday afternoon, only a couple of families were their with their small children. Stefan led her to a swing and she sat and looked up at him. She followed him with her gaze as he walked behind her and gently began to push her.

She knew that Stefan had quiet spells. They didn't happen often, but when they did she respected them. They usually only occurred when he was thinking about his parents.

He had told her early on in their relationship why he lived by himself; that his father had died when he was ten, and that his mother left him a couple of years after. He had lived with a couple of aunts and uncles until they realized that his father had left everything he ever owned to Stefan. They had not been happy about that, but legally, Stefan was able to make a bunch of his own decisions, until finally he settled down in the house he lived in now in Mystic Falls. It had been one of his father's summer homes that Stefan himself had never personally visited.

"I want to start with sorry."

At those words, Elena dragged her feet to come to a stop.

"I haven't been honest with you, because... I thought it would be better that way. And I had thought, that by moving here, I could escape all my problems...but it turns out my problems know where I live."

He sighed and looked up into the sky. "The thing is... the person in the picture last night, the person who was at my house last night... is my brother. One... of my brothers."

"One of... as in... you have more?" She asked. She didn't understand, first why he wouldn't tell her that he had brothers, and second... why did he inherit all of his fathers things and not them?

"Yes. I do. I have two older brothers and... three older sisters. I'm the youngest. The guy from last night was my brother Damon. Now... ask away, I know you want to."

And she did want to, desperately. Well, he had given her permission hadn't he? "Why didn't you tell me? Why would you keep five siblings a secret?" She decided that would be her first question.

He took the swing beside her and just sat. "My siblings all left for one reason or another as soon as they could. They never really came back, so I thought it best to pretend they didn't even exist. And it worked, for a good five years. Until now."

Suddenly it seemed it was talking to himself, as if he had forgotten that she was there. "And of course it had to be him. It couldn't be anyone else, that would be just too simple."

Elena started to feel slightly awkward and uncomfortable. She could hear venom in his voice that she had never heard anyone talk with before. She had never known one person could have so much anger in their voice. She was almost too scared to ask another question. Almost.

"Why did your father leave you with everything... and not one of your other siblings?"

He chuckled just a little though it had no light in it. "He was only my father. My mother got around a bit."

It was quite for a moment as she tried to digest everything. "There's still something I don't understand, Stefan. Why pretend to be an only child? Why did your siblings just leave like that?"

Stefan stared at his feet. "My siblings never really ever liked my father, and they weren't too fond of our mother either. They decided to escape as quickly as they could...and then in the end even my mother escaped. And why pretend they didn't exist? I was only playing the same game they were. And I was the only one who knew them anyway. We moved around so much they never really made friends, and if they did they never mentioned them. My father never introduced them to his family, so they didn't even know they existed, so you see? It was easy just to pretend they had never been there."

"Until now." Elena said quietly.

Stefan laughed dryly. "Yes. Until now."

"Why did you say of course it had to be him? What's wrong with this brother that makes him worse than all the others?"

Stefan looked as if he was about to answer and then swallowed it. He shook his head and hopped off of the swing. "I haven't even told you yet why Damon is here."

Elena got off of her swing too and stared up at him, aware of the fact that he had heard but decided to ignore her last question. "Tell me."

"My older sister has a six month baby that she can no longer take care of, apparently. And apparently, I am the only one who she thinks is responsible enough to take care of her. The baby I mean."  
>Elena cocked her head to the side and her mouth fell open as if she was about to reply, but no words were coming to her. Finally she said, "What?"<p>

He sniffed a laugh, "That's what I said. Anyway, the only reason my brother is here to drop off my niece at my house."

Elena shook her head in disbelief. "Is that legal?"

Stefan shrugged slowly. "My family doesn't really care about legalism."

"But... so what are you going to do with her?"

"I was hoping you would help with that... I need a nanny... and was wondering if you knew anyone."

"I .." She was still trying to process the thought that her boyfriend was now in charge of a baby. What kind of family did this boy come from? What was she getting herself into? She tried to push all those thoughts away and focus on Stefan. He needed her right now. "I can't think of anyone at the top of my head, but I can look into it. But wait- if he gave you the baby... where is she now?"

"My brother is watching her." He admitted reluctantly.

"So... the brother that you dislike the most is watching her?" She asked.

He sighed, grabbed her hand and just started walking; she kept up along side him. "So far he's the only one she'll stop crying for."

She looked up at him and squinted as the sun got in her eyes. He stopped walking and turned just a bit to shield her from the sun.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. I never meant to lie to you... I had just thought that that stage in my life was over with-the past in the past, you know? I didn't think it would ever come back."

She smiled back and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's okay, I forgive you. Even if you still haven't answered one of my questions yet. But you don't have to answer until you can, okay?"

He gave her a smile this time and kissed her on the top of her head that sent tingles throughout her whole body. "I love you, you know that."

She nodded. "Yes, I know."  
>He chuckled and then started back for his car. "Let's go to my house, you can meet her-my niece-Danielle."<p>

"Sounds like a plan." She agreed.

The walked back to the car hand in hand in silence. Once they were in the vehicle and on their way, Stefan spoke again.

"I just want to warn you about Damon. He... he doesn't really have any moral standings. He likes his drink, he likes his girls, he likes fast cars. If he wants something, he'll do what ever it takes to get it. He's also rather childish in that..." He paused as if he were trying to find all the right words, " he likes to play trivial mind games and he likes to see how far he can press someone before they snap. I just... I just want you to be careful, okay?"

Elena could tell this was really weighing on his mind, and his brother certainly sounded like the kind of crowd they usually avoided so she agreed.

"Of course, and with you by my side, I will have nothing to worry about."

(Now)

Damon's POV

"Okay... I guess proper introductions should be made..." Stefan trailed off a bit.

Damon grinned and took over. He took not-Katherine's hand and kissed her knuckles. "Hello, I'm Damon Salvatore, and you are?"

"Elena Gilbert." She answered patiently waiting for him to return her hand, he could tell by the slightly annoyed look on her face.

He let it go only after he caught a glimpse of the look on Stefan's face. It only brought a bigger smile to his. "Nice to meet you, Elena. Terribly sorry that I dropped by unannounced- just think of how incredibly awkward that would have been if I came when the two of you were alone and-"

"Yes, well introductions made, where's Danielle?" Stefan cut in looking about the room.

He shrugged. "Napping in the spare room you gave me."

He watched as Stefan took Elena's hand and led her upstairs, he trailed behind them until Stefan stopped and looked back at him thoroughly ticked off.

"Don't you have somewhere you should be?"

Damon pretended to think for a moment, though a thought did come to his mind. "You are right... maybe I should step out for a quick bite..." Here he smirked at his little brother. "If you know what I mean..." He was about to open his mouth and let his fangs extend, but Stefan's eyes widen and he spoke quickly.

"Actually why don't you just go to the kitchen and throw a pizza in the oven for dinner, okay?"

Damon put a pout face on and then caught Elena's eyes. "He's so bossy sometimes, I don't know how you can stand it!" He sighed dramatically and then bounded the stairs three at a time.

He went to the kitchen and threw in a pizza because he realized he really was hungry-even though he knew that food wasn't going to satisfy him. He was going to need something substantial, and soon.

He sat at the island in the kitchen and frowned as he began to think- his head in his hands. While Stefan had been at school he had done an inspection of most of the rooms-though not a thorough one. Mainly to take in inventory on what all rooms were there.

Out of all the homes Stefan's dad had and all the places they had moved, this had not been one of them. Which was really a shame, it was a great place.

Now he just had to figure out how he could stay longer, so that he could actually start looking for information. He knew that Stefan had to know something, and he knew that if any house had anything it would be this one. He had already searched all of the other ones.

Just then he heard a crying from upstairs. He rolled his eyes. He wondered if the child only cried so it could be held. They started sneaky conivingness at such a young age now a days.

He sighed and twisted the ring on his finger. Maybe he could stay in town, without actually staying at the house? He would be able to get a round without a nanny seeing him, right? And maybe if it's a college age girl... well those are always fun to have around...

But maybe staying in the house would be better. He could be there twenty four seven and be able to actually search without question... the only problem was still be the nanny. Maybe if Stefan hired a really old woman she would not even pay attention.

He narrowed his eyes when he heard voices headed for the kitchen.

"She really is adorable." He heard Elena say.

"Yes.. she is.. when she's not screaming, I think I'll make her something."

They entered the kitchen but Damon did not acknowledge them, nor did Stefan acknowledge him. Elena glanced over at him, though, as she sat on a stool across the island from him, setting Danielle on her lap. She looked from one brother to the other and then finally asked, "What am I supposed to tell Bonnie?"

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked, Damon looked up, intrigued.

"Yes, Bonnie. I told her about what happened last night, she's my best friend, I tell her everything."

"Everything?" Damon inquired raising both of his eyebrows at her inquisitively. She blushed and turned her face away.

"Yes." Though this time she sounded less sure. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Well... I guess... you can tell her I have a brother..."

" You want me to lie?"

"No! If she doesn't ask about anything else, it's not really lying is it?"

Damon prayed that his pizza would heat faster so that he could leave. Then he thought to himself, why am I making myself a pizza? Since when do I listen to anyone?

He jumped up and headed for the hall.

"Wait- where are you going?" Stefan asked, only a couple of steps behind him. Damon sighed and did not turn to face him.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. I just want to make sure your...not..."

"Not what?" Damon raised both of his eyebrows again, this time slightly amused. He wondered how his baby brother would get himself around this without saying anything too revealing to his girlfriend. He seemed to realize what Damon was thinking and he set his face into a frown, a worried line appearing across his forehead.

"No, you know exactly what I'm talking about. We are not even going to go into that. I won't let you out there." His voice slightly wavered with his last words. And he had every right too.

Damon's arms had been crossed during their brief argument, but now he lowered them and pulled himself up to look down at his baby brother. He narrowed his eyes and when he spoke, his fangs were visible.

"I don't know who you think you are kid, but no one, especially not some preppy mama's boy who has a preppy little girlfriend who looks mighty tasty, tell me what to do. You got that baby brother?"

Stefan swallowed hard, trying hard not to waver. "Leave Elena out of this."

Damon was growing impatient now and he grabbed Stefan by the collar. He looked behind Stefan and saw that Elena was watching.

"One second." He pulled his brother into the hall and then pushed him against the wall, hard. Stefan moaned as his head smacked against it. The mirror next to him shuddered. Damon ignored it all.

"I can't let you out there." Stefan coughed out.

"Why, Stefan? Tell me why." He switched to two hands and pinned him.

Stefan tried to wiggle himself away but after a moment realized it was useless. "Mother once told me that you don't need people's..." his voice got lower, "blood. That you can hunt animals. But you chose human just for fun. That's just wrong, Damon."

Damon narrowed his eyes and then slowly let Stefan off the wall, but still kept a hand on his chest to keep him in place. "Of course I don't _need _people blood, but it's like this: Do kids need candy? No, but that doesn't stop them from eating it, now does it." He grabbed Stefan by the neck once more and dragged him toward the door and forced him to look outside. Some children played across the street and an elderly couple were taking a walk.

"Stefan, do you know what I see when I look outside?" He didn't answer, so Damon continued. "Candy. Fresh candy all for me."

He turned Stefan back around and now pinned him against the door.

"Now... what was it you were saying about, 'I'm not even going to talk about it'?"

"Go to hell."

Damon smirked. "All ready there, buddy. Now. I'm going out. I expect the door to be unlocked when I get back... you don't want any broken windows, do you?"

He let him go and Stefan slid to the floor trying to breath.

"Buh-bye." And with that, he was out the door.

(Then)

Damon's POV

_Damon looked around the park confused. Katherine had told him to meet him out here, but she was nowhere in sight. He was almost about to go back to his car when he heard a rustle behind him. He yelled as he was grabbed by the collar and lifted into the air and then pushed roughly against a nearby tree._

_He was about to scream and lash out, until he looked up and saw that it was only Katherine. He rolled his and wiggled about but his girlfriend still kept him up there looking him over. Finally she let him go; Damon fell to his feet and rubbed the back of his head._

_"What was that for?" He asked as he pulled her over for a kiss. She dodged it-however-by ducking under his arm and then capturing his head in a lock._

_"You are going to have to learn to defend yourself, so that when you become a vampire, you'll be ready for anything."_

_"But won't all that come naturally?" He asked, pulling on her arm and dropping to the ground. He tried to roll away but she caught him with her foot._

_Katherine looked down at him and narrowed her dark brown eyes. "No. Swiftness comes, but without knowing what to do with it-it's useless."_

_Damon frowned. "Why can't you just teach me after you turn me." He asked crossly and she let him up and he brushed the dirt off of his leather jacket._

_Katherine shook her head at him. "I'll have plenty of other things to teach you then... how to defend your self against Dream Walking or Compulsion.. how to use Dream Walking. I want you to be the only one with a trick up their sleeve- with a swift fist and a quick bite. Now, are we going to start practicing or what?"_

_Damon contemplated the thought for a moment more and then jumped up with fists at the ready. Katherine sniffed with haughty laughter and pushed his fists down._

_"Let's try it like this..." She lunged at him and he quickly turned to his left-barely missing her. She turned with inhuman speed and pounced for him again. This time he could not escape her. He fell to the ground-hard- the wind almost knocked out of him._

_Katherine stood above him, a seductive smile gracing her features. She slowly lowered her self so that she was sitting on his stomach._

_Damon struggled to breath. She noticed this and smirked, lowering her face to his. "Do I take your breath away..." She breath into his ear._

_His heart began to race at her nearness-but he didn't have enough breath to answer her with._

_Finally Katherine rolled over him, and laid beside him. "Good try. I guess you deserve an award..." She turned his face to hers and slowly-teasingly brushed her lips against his._

_He closed his eyes as he felt her lips against his. When she pulled away he sighed. "When. When can you turn me so that we can do this all the time?"_

_She laughed and sat him. "In time, my impatient boy... in time."_


	5. 5 Once Bitten, Twice Shy

**A/N: Another update! And so soon! It was because I already had most of this chapter written last week and I will be gone next week and well... I just couldn't wait! Thanks to 'cold kagome' and 'Jezziedavamp' for reviewing! And to answer your question Jess: In my story Damon and Stefan are half brothers. :) Now, in this chapter, I again raise more questions than I answer. However, I did a lot of planning today and I finally think I have a plot for this story! I'm still open to ideas, but at least now this story will go somewhere, lol! Also, to clarify in my story world Witch's blood heals a werewolf bite. Also, this chapter is longer than the rest so I hope it will hold your attention until I come back from vacation. I hope you guys enjoy! Keep reading and reviewing! You guys rock! Look! Lots of exclamation points!**

* * *

><p>(Now)<p>

Stefan's POV

He ate his breakfast silently as he watched Damon from across the island. He hated the way he casually ate while reading in some old book his had taken out of his fathers library. He just sat there as if he had no care in the world, and Stefan couldn't be more irritated at his nonchalant behavior. That... and the fact that he had been there the whole weekend and didn't show any signs of leaving.

"Do you have any oatmeal?"

Stefan looked over his shoulder to see Mrs. St. Peters, the nanny that he and Elena had found on Saturday. She was an older woman in her mid-seventies, and had huge glasses and a slight hearing problem. She wasn't their first choice, but as Damon had put his two cents in, they needed someone who wouldn't ask a lot of personal questions.

"Besides," Damon had said, "I'll be here too."

Stefan had just ignored him then, only thinking him to be joking-but now?

"Danielle is only six months old... I don't think she can eat oatmeal." He said.

Mrs. St. Peter's squinted at him. "What? No, the oatmeal's for me!"

Stefan heard Damon snort and he groaned just slightly and turned in his chair to face her fully. "Sorry, I don't have any. And I have to get going or I'll be late for school."

"What kind of house is this if it has no oatmeal?" Mrs. St. Peters grumbled.

"Preach it sister." Damon said from behind his book.

Stefan rolled his eyes and started for the hall, stopping as he passed by Danielle in the high chair he and Elena had bought the day before. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile. She was gurgling happily to herself, and pulling at her tufts of brown hair that were randomly placed around her head.

He put his face next to hers and whispered. "You be bad and try to make Damon leave, okay?" Then he gave her a kiss and headed for school.

The first thing he did when he got there was head straight to Elena's home room. He lingered at the door until he saw Elena walking down the hall with Caroline. He jogged down to meet them and gentlemanly offered to take her books. She smiled and gave them to him while Caroline rolled her eyes and pretended to gag.

"I'll see you to love birds at lunch." She said as she waved goodbye and continued down the hall.

Stefan leaned against the wall and motioned with his head for Elena to do the same. She did and then looked up at him. "So?"

"He's still here."

"Really?" She asked, surprised. "But from what you told me... he should be gone."

"I know. I don't quite understand what's going on. We fought all weekend. He complains all the time about everything." He also stays out to late at night and comes home smelling like a blood bank, but Stefan decided it best to keep that part to himself. "So by my calculations, he should have been gone Thursday night."

"But that's when he got here."

"Exactly."

"Stefan." She pushed his arm and laughed softly as she took her book back. "It's okay, I'm sure he'll leave soon." She lingered in the doorway, there was still two minutes before class.

Stefan braced himself against the door frame looked down at her with contemplation. "Yeah... but he's also acting a bit weird."

"Weird how?"

"Like... snooping through stuff... and reading random old books from the library. Of all the years I lived with him I don't think I had ever even seen him pick up a book."

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to say, Stefan... I'll come over after school and help you drive him away."

He sighed. "I wish you would stay away till he leaves..."

Elena gave him a look and shifted her weight. "Really? Besides, aside from him purposely trying to put me in awkward conversations he's been pretty.. gentlemanly to me."

"Of course he has!" Stefan felt like exploding out of his skin. "That is all his ploy!"

Elena was about to answer when she heard Mr. Saltzman. "Is there something you want to share with the class?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and shook her head. "Sorry, Mr. Saltzman." She quickly looked back at Stefan and stepped on her tip toes and gave him a kiss.

"Stop worrying, I'll talk to you later."

Stefan lifted himself off of the door frame and gave Mr. Saltzman and nod, who gave one in reply, and then he headed for his own class.

(~~~)

At lunch a bunch of kids decided to eat outside. The weather man had said it was going to be the last warm day before a big chill and everyone wanted to take advantage of it. So Stefan and Elena had a pick-nick lunch, and shared the blanket with Matt, Jeremy, Bonnie, and Caroline who also shared their lunch hour.

"Augh, I just love these warm days!" Matt cried laying down and spreading himself out on the grass. Caroline flicked him in the stomach.

"Sit up, your such a goof."

He just stuck her tongue out at her in reply.  
>"Oh real mature." This time his reply was to grab her around the waist and yank her down beside him. Everyone else laughed at them, though Stefan was still slightly distracted.<p>

"Well, personally I like the cold days, with snow. They are perfect hot coco days." Jeremy said squinting as he looked up at the sky.

"Really? Me too." Bonnie agreed casually.

Stefan heard this and at least wasn't distracted so much that he couldn't share a knowing glance with Matt. Though he couldn't help think it to be a bit trivial.

"What about you, Stefan?" Elena asked from beside him. Her head was resting against his arm as she used him as back support.

"It doesn't really matter. As long as you're with me, any weather is good."

"AWW!" Bonnie and Caroline squealed at the same time. Caroline socked Matt in the stomach, he moaned and rolled to his side.

"What was that for?"

"Why can't the rest of your male race be that romantic?"

"Romantic? You thought that was romantic? Sorry bro, but that was the cheesiest line I've ever heard." He said as he sat up cautiously. But not too cautious-this time Bonnie got him, and again he fell to his side.

Stefan shrugged and looked down at Elena and smiled, she smiled back. It was true though-normally he didn't really even pay attention to the weather.

He was about to remark that maybe Matt take some moves from the Stefan Salvatore handbook when he heard Caroline gasp and then squeal.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked, looking concerned.

Elena shook her head. "No, that was not her, I'm in trouble squeal, that was her hot boy squeal." She made eye contact with Caroline who nodded furiously.

"So, where is he?" Bonnie asked looking about.

"Over there, " She said pointing to the parking lot, "And I swear, he looks just like that guy from that picture at your house Thursday night, Stefan."

Elena sat up quickly and the two of them exchanged a look. Then they swerved there heads toward the parking lot. And to their utter disbelief they say his silver Porsche parked near the exit, with non other than Damon Salvatore himself leaning against it.

He wore a black leather jacket and small slick sunglasses. His dark hair pushed to the left side and blew back gently in the light November breeze. The corners of his mouth played with a smirk.

"How can you tell?" Elena finally asked. Stefan silently agreed with her. There was no way she would have recognized him, not with the sun glasses and the fact that the picture was taken nine years ago-he would have grown up. He hadn't... but he should have.

"Uh, his hair. And that leather jacket looks just like the one that guy was wearing. Too bad you don't remember who he is, Stefan, then you could go see if that's him." Caroline said as she stood and wiped leaves off of her pants.

"Um.. where are you going?" Elena asked pulling herself up on her knees.

Caroline let her hair out of the pony tail it had been contained it and shook her head a couple of times. "I'm going to go introduce myself, of course!"

Matt frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah, I'm with Matt, that sounds stupid." Bonnie put it.

Caroline rolled her eyes at them. "Oh, give me a break. What? You going to give me a lesson on "stranger danger"?"

"Yes." Elena and Bonnie chorused.

"Whatever, be right back." And with that Caroline flounced off to the mysterious stranger-Damon. Stefan watched on edge, ready to jump up to his friends aid at any moment.

"You know what... she's right.. he does kinda look like the guy from the picture." Bonnie stated. She turned to Elena and her eyes widen, and then she looked at Stefan.

He knew that Elena and told her that Damon had showed up on Thursday night, but he also knew that she had yet to tell her that he was, in fact, Stefan's brother.

Elena looked at him briefly and then looked back at Bonnie. She nodded her head and mouthed, "I'll tell you later." "You better." Was the mouthed reply. All the while Jeremy and Matt were oblivious to them for they were still watching Caroline.

"She's coming back." Matt said as he stole food from Elena's plate. She slapped his hand and then turned her attention back to her friend.

Caroline walked over and came right up to Stefan. "Hey, so- he say's he wants to talk to you."

(Now)

Damon's POV

He deciding to go the school was a last minute thought. He was just driving around town after a morning of unsuccessful searching through Stefan's things for any word on Katherine, when he drove past the building. He caught a glimpse of long dark hair on the lawn of the school,and was fooled only for a moment for he then looked harder to see Stefan beside Elena Gilbert.

So with a smirk he pulled into the parking lot and then casually exited his vehicle and leisurely leaned against it as he scoped out the crowd that Stefan was with. He had not been standing there long when one of the girl's noticed him. He cocked his head to the side and waited. Soon enough she had stood up and began walking toward him.

"Hey, you look familiar even though I don't think I've ever met you. I'm Caroline." She said.

He looked her over. She had blonde hair that had clearly been straightened that morning and porcelain skin. She was not bad looking, but she wasn't drop dead gorgeous either.

"I'm Damon, I do not think we've ever met. I'd remember a face like yours." He said slowly, as if savoring ever word. Girls fell for it every time.

As expected, Caroline practically swooned at his words. She grinned flirtatiously and flipped her hair back. "Aw, thanks. So... I'm gonna guess you don't go to this school- or any school."

"That would be correct." He answered, pulling his sunglasses up down and off. She seemed to take a breath and bit her outer lip. "I actually just moved here. I moved in with my brother- he goes to school here."

"No way! Who's your brother?" She looked up at him expectantly, eager for his words.

"Stefan. Stefan Salvatore."

Her mouth fell open and she threw a look over her shoulder and then back to him. "No way! Stefan's a friend of mine! I didn't know he had an older, hot brother."

Damon smirked. "Yes, well, he likes to pretend I don't exist, it's easier that way for him."

She laughed prettily. Damon decided she wasn't all that bad. When she had first come over to him, he had contemplated the idea of just taking her back to the house and having himself a bite... but it wouldn't be hell if she stayed around a bit. Besides, after a long hard day of dealing with Stefan, a baby, and an older woman, plus looking everywhere just for clue of Katherine? Yeah, he would want some eye candy at the end of the day. A little blood also never hurt.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" He asked.

She began to blush. "Nothing, why?"

"Well maybe we can get a bite, and you can show me around town."

"So... so.. like a date?" She wanted to know.

Damon wanted to roll his eyes-oh teenagers. "Sure, if that's what you want."

"Yeah sure! Totally!"

"Sweet. Okay. Could you go get Stefan for me. I want to talk to him."

"Yeah, sure." She smiled at him again, and then turned and sauntered back to her group.

He waited patiently, again resting against his car. Within moments Stefan joined him. He stood in front of him with hands in his pockets.

"What do you want?"

Damon coolly put his sunglasses back on. "Just stopping by."

"Well, stop. And leave Caroline alone, okay."

"Sorry, that won't be happening. Caroline and I have a date tonight. The girl's a bit desperate... "

"Seriously, Damon, if you touch a single hair on Caroline's head I'll-"

"You'll what?" Damon scoffed. "Ground me? Take away my allowance... Stake me?" He almost laughed at the thought of her brother gathering up enough courage to even wield a stake let alone driving one into Damon's heart.

Stefan was quiet and then frowned in defeat."Damon, what was your point for this visit?"

"Point? No point, just felt like stopping by, getting a bite, scoping out the locals... seeing who my brother hangs out with..."

"Leave." Stefan said tightly. Damon pushed himself off of the car and rose his eyebrows high in slight irritation.

"Wanna say that again?"

"Seriously? I don't want to do that anymore. Just please, my lunch is just about over, thanks for ruining it, now please.. just leave." He sighed and waited.

Damon cocked his head to the side and then leaned back against his car. "Fine. See you tonight little bro."

Stefan hesitated for a moment and then straightened up and walked back to his group. Damon watched him for a moment more and then smoothly hopped into his car. It was probably best he went home and fixed himself up- he did have a date after all. He smirked and started his car.

(~~~)

"I like the banana cream, but chocolate is pretty good too." Caroline chirped, clearly on cloud nine. From what Damon had gathered in the past hour as they had eaten dinner and were now entering desert is that this was only Caroline's second date ever.

Apparently she had once went out with Matt, but they decided to, 'just be friends'. And she was so glad she was with an older more sophisticated man than those juvenile high school boys she knew. Damon feigned interest, but he really didn't care about a word that left her mouth.

She finally picked what desert she wanted and then gave the menu back to the waiter. She turned her full attention back to Damon.

"So, where do you want to go first?" She asked eager to please.

He settled into his chair and pretended to contemplate the matter. "Any near by parks, or forests?"

Her smiled fell just a little and her nose turned up at the suggestions. "A forest? Really?"

He shrugged. "Or a mall, whatever."

She smiled, relieved. "I know a great mall-only five minutes from here- it's in the next city but it's one of the best!"

"Great." She either ignored the sarcasm or did not hear it.

"You know, I still can't get over the fact that you are Stefan's brother, it's just so weird!"

"Yeah weird. Have you ever met anyone else in his -our- family?"He asked casually.

She shook her head. "No, he said his mom left him a couple of years ago. Well I guess it's your mom. That's just horrible! Have you seen her since she left?"

Damon set his mouth in a grim line. After Katherine, his mother was just about the last person he wanted to discuss with anybody-ever. "You know what, let's change the subject."

Caroline seemed to get the hint and started blabbering away about the mall. Despite Caroline being a bit artificial, at least he hadn't had to compel her all night. It made things easier when people just cooperated.

He continued to not really listen to her all the way through desert and even when they were at the mall. He just nodded his head and made agreeing noises every once in a while and basically was charming without any real effort..

She took him around the mall, showing him the best stores, and yadda yadda yadda. She yapped on and on about people she recognized and what their relationship status was. Soon enough he had had enough of the date and interrupted Caroline mid sentence.

"It's getting late, I should take you back now."

She glanced at her watch as she saw that it was only eight. "You are such a gentleman, oh my gosh. Elena and Stefan has told me to be careful with you- but seriously, I have no idea what they are taking about!"

His ears perked up at the mention of Stefan's name. "They told you to be careful around me?" He asked with mock concern. She nodded woefully.

"Yes. They said that you were not as genuine as you seem, but what do they know? I mean, Elena just met you and Stefan said that you two haven't seen each other in a long time. People change right?"

A slow smirk came to Damon's face. "Right. Of course. People change." Vampire's though? Yeah, Vampire's on the other hand...are rather stoic. "Now come on, lets get out of here."

He put his hand behind her back and quickly guided her out of the mall and back to his car. As he walked with a hand on her back he could feel her heart beating. And along with that he could feel the rushing of her blood through her veins from his finger tips. His mouth began to water. As soon as they were both in the car he drove to her house.

When they were a couple houses away from hers he parked the car along the street and turned to her. Normally he would just take a bite and be done with it, but, as he kept reminding himself, he was going to keep her for a while. So he decided compelling her to comply would be the easiest thing to do.

He turned in his seat to her and she turned a bit too, looking down and blushing. "Look at me please." He said.

She looked up and then was caught in his gaze like a fly caught in spider's web, unable to look away-unable to move. She just stared at him with almost dead like eyes, awaiting to do whatever he bid her to.

"I'm going to drink your blood, and you are going to be fine with it. And you won't remember when it's over."

She nodded as if in a trance and then he smiled and released her. She blinked a couple of times and then her focus registered on him and she once again smiled, for the first time all night speechless.

Damon took that moment and pulled her closer to him. First he kissed her lips and found her eager and clearly inexperienced. He slowly moved down from her lips to her cheek to her neck. And then, caressing her lightly, he let his fangs expand and then he sunk them into her.

She whimpered and squirmed but he held her tightly and drank. The feeling of her blood rushing through him set a surge of energy to his brain. It been a day since he had had anything fresh. He loved how alive he felt and didn't want to pull away.

She had stopped squirming now and it was easier to hold her without the thought of possible decapitation. Finally after a moment or so more he finally pulled back. He ran his tongue around his teeth and smiled. He then pulled her coat up more around the spot he had bit her and kissed her lips once more.

"Goodnight, Caroline. Thanks for the drink. See you tomorrow."

Clearly in a daze, not remembering anything except for the fact that Damon had kissed her, she let herself out of his car. "Bye, Damon... see you tomorrow." And then she quickly headed for her house.

He watched her go and then turned his car back on and rested his head against the headrest. He ran his tongue over his teeth again trying to get whatever remains he could. He enjoyed the thought of having a plaything like Caroline, but he realized that she was not going to satisfy. As he looked around he saw a night time jogger ahead of him. A smirk came and rested on Damon's face. He turned up the volume on his radio, put his car into gear and began to follow said jogger.

(Then)

Damon's POV

_"He needs blood, Claudia." Katherine said._

_Damon could barely make his girlfriend out from where he lay in his bed. It didn't help that his vision was becoming blurry and that he couldn't stop shaking._

_"No! No child of mine is ever going to do that!" Claudia said sharply standing beside Damon bed with her arms folded over her chest._

_"He's not a child, Claudia, and if he doesn't get it he could get worse." Damon could see Katherine just faintly as she turned to his mother. "He is a Vampire, it's what we do."_

_"He may be a Vampire, but he also was a Human-" She was cut off._

_"And they require blood as well. It's just that we have to get it a different way than you do." Though out of it, he could hear no trace of urgency in Katherine's voice._

_"NO!" His mother shouted. The noise burned Damon's ear drums and he moaned in pain . He closed his eyes, and began to roll to his side, but then just in time remembered that's where his wound was. He began to feel fidgety. He couldn't move to either side without being in pain, but they refused to let him fall asleep!_

_"Katherine..." He croaked. There was no answer. He called her out again, but still no answer. He slowly opened his eyes and at once felt dizzy, as if he was on a ship caught in a storm. He closed his eyes again and called out her name, this time louder._

_He then heard a quite, "Shh." near his ear and then felt a cool hand on his face. He carefully opened his eyes. He squinted hard and could barely make out the figure of his sister, Lyric, beside his bed, leaning over him and soothingly petting his face._

_"Lyr-" He tried to say but she shook her head and put a finger to his lips._

_"Listen, Damon, I heard what Mother and Katherine were arguing about. You need blood to get better. But you can only have witch blood with a bite like this, and Mother won't let you. So... here." She thrust her wrist out to him._

_He did not understand what was going on. "Wha-?"_

_"Damon! You have to bite me and take some of my blood. It's the only way you'll get better!"_

_"But-"_

_"Damon, please!" He could hear desperation in her voice even if he couldn't see her face all to well._

_He slowly opened his mouth and sank his teeth into his sister's wrist that she held to his face. To his surprise he felt a pain in two of his front teeth as he bit and he groaned and tried to pull away. But Lyric was not going to budge._

_"Drink it!" She begged._

_Blood was now swirling around in his mouth and dripping down the sides of his chin. Slowly he began to swallow it. To his astonishment it was sweeter and much thicker than he was used to and as soon as it hit his throat he began to feel better. He bit harder into his sister and sucked in more, and more. His fingers around Lyric's arm no longer felt week and his shaking was beginning to subside. His sister's blood was helping!_

_After a moment or so Lyric slapped his hands, and in surprise he dropped them and she pulled her wrist away. He whimpered slightly and looked up at her not sure what to say when he saw that she had tears in her eyes. Finally he said quietly, "Lyric.."_

_She didn't say anything as she wrapped a scarf around her wrist and then grabbed a towel and began to wipe his face as if he was a child. He felt like a child even though he was nineteen. "Do you feel better?"_

_He nodded. "Yes."_

_She helped him sit up."Good."_

_She sat on the bed beside him and then gave him a hug. "I knew I could help."  
><em>

(Now)

Stefan's POV

Danielle would not stop crying. Nothing he did seemed to work. Mrs. St. Peter's had taught him the correct way to change a diaper, so he gave that a try-she still cried. He fed her- she still cried. He walked around the house with her- she still cried. He even put her to bed, but after fifteen minutes of nonstop screaming he decided he felt cruel leaving her in a room by herself in such state.

Now he just paced in front of the fireplace with her laying on his shoulder, still crying. He never knew that that many tears could come out of such a small child.

"Where's Damon? Huh, Danielle? Where is he?" It was almost eight thirty- which certainly wasn't the latest he had been out, but this was the first time he had been out with someone Stefan knew. And the fact that Danielle wouldn't stop crying also made the time seem to go on forever.

"Do you think... maybe he left for good? That we don't have to worry about him anymore?" Hopefulness began to creep into his voice. With him gone, even if he did have Danielle, things could almost go back to normal, at least in his mind.

Danielle's only reply was to cry harder. He sighed and bounced her up and down a little more. "Do you miss your mommy... is that it?" He asked her quietly leaning his head against hers, her fine hair tickling his face. "I know how it feels to have your mother abandon you. Don't worry, we've got each other now. I think we'll be good, as long as you stop crying."

Just then Stefan heard the front door opened and he turned around and started for the hall. Within seconds he could hear Damon's voice as he presumably hung his leather jacket on the coat rack in the hall. "Stefan, what in the world have you been doing to the baby? I swear you can hear that thing from outside." He stepped into the room and strolled over to him.

"Please take her." He said, though he hated the fact that he was trusting him with her.

Damon sighed and took Danielle from him and she almost immediately stopped crying. Stefan shook his head, still unable to comprehend why that happened. "I have to go take an aspirin." He said and headed for the kitchen. "Whateves." Was the reply.

Stefan frowned, walked into the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of aspirin from the table and poured himself a cup of water and he thought. He wondered how he would go about asking his brother about his "date" tonight. He decided it was best to go with the direct route. It seemed to be what Damon dealt with best.

He swallowed the aspirin and then went back to the other room. He found Damon sprawled on the couch with a sleeping Danielle on his chest. Stefan leaned against the couch and looked down. Damon too had his eyes closed, but Stefan knew by the way he was breathing that he was still awake. No one but a baby could fall asleep that fast.

"So, how did your date go?" He asked perching himself on the arm of the other couch.

Damon didn't answer at first just breathed in deeply a couple of times, but then answered with, "Deliciously."

A frown immediately jumped to the younger boy's face and he pushed himself off of the couch and took a step back.

"Oh don't freak out. It was just little bite, a midnight snack if you will." He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at his brother disinterestedly.

"Damn, Damon. I'm have to call Caroline." Stefan said instantly and whipped out his cell.

Damon made a face and snorted. "Why? She's home, alive, and compelled. She's fine."

Stefan ignored him and waited for Caroline to answer.

"Hello, Caroline here." Came her voice.

"Hey, Caroline, it's Stefan... I just wanted to make sure you were okay.."

"Um.. yeah... why wouldn't I be? Btw, I had a great time with your brother. He is super hot!"

Stefan pressed his lips into a thin line. "Right. Are you sure your okay?"

"Sheesh, Stefan, what did you expect your brother to do to me?" Here she giggled, and Stefan could only guess why.

"Nothing. I... I guess I'll see you tomorrow, bye."

"You are so weird, Stefan." He could tell by her voice that she was probably rolling her eyes. He hung up and then turned to his brother. Damon was looking at him expectantly. "So, is she dead?"

"... No."

Damon flashed him a smile. "Miracles of miracles! Now please, take this drool bag off of me, and put it to bed. I want to take a shower and go to sleep."

Stefan walked over and slowly picked up Danielle. Miraculously she stayed sleeping. He headed toward the stairs and then paused.

"Damon. Honestly. What are you still doing here?"

Damon stretched, picked himself up off the couch and casually walked past Stefan. He turned as he reached the base of the staircase. "Honestly? I'm here to find what I'm looking for and make your life a living hell in the process. 'Night."

Stefan's eyes followed his older brother up the stairs and then hesitantly climbed the stairs himself. "It's because of Katherine, isn't it."

Damon slowed his walking, but kept the same haughty posture as before.

"For some reason, you have it in your head that I know where she is. Well, I don't-Damon. As far as I know-no one does. But then, you would know more about the others than me. Wouldn't you." Stefan could almost feel the venom seeping from his words. Suddenly this was much more about him hanging around Caroline. It was more than Katherine even.

Damon lifted his head to the ceiling and then turned slowly and glowered. At him. "Oh please, Stefan. You still think I'm the reason everyone left you? I'm sorry baby brother, but they left you on their own." He crossed his arms over his chest.

As he did that action Stefan caught sight of the ring on his finger. The ring that he had been trying to avoid seeing since Damon had arrived. But see it he did. He held Danielle closer to him and climbed up the rest of the stairs, unsure if he could even hold himself up.

"Not everyone." He managed to say, his eyes fixed on the ring.

Damon followed his brothers gaze and just for a moment broke his arrogant stance. His features almost became sad in that one moment-but Stefan convinced himself it must have been a trick of the light because soon he had the ring hidden under an arm and a scowl was on his face.

"Oh please. You barley even knew the guy."

Stefan couldn't believe his ears. His mouth dropped opened and he switched Danielle to his other shoulder. "Because you killed him!" His voice startled the baby and she jolted and began to whimper. Neither brother did anything about it. They just stood-staring at each other.

Finally Damon spoke. "Yes, I did. And you know what? I still don't care. The guy was a d-"

"Don't! Stop!"

"Just because you don't want to hear it doesn't make it any less of the truth. But then, you probably never saw that side of him- or at least pretended not to. Because, God Forbid if little Stefan's world was rocked."

"Stop..." Stefan had lost all fight in his voice. He couldn't do this... he couldn't have this conversation. Not now. "I'm taking her to bed."

Damon didn't say a thing as he turned and went to his room, slamming the door so that anything hanging on the hall walls shuddered.

Stefan made his way to the room he had given his niece and sank into the closest chair, which happened to be a rocking chair. He just sat there, tears threatening to flow over, and rocked and rocked until Danielle finally fell asleep.

(Then)

Stefan's POV

_There was a knock at the door. He wasn't usually allowed to answer the door, but ever since Ryder and Brooklyn had left he had been doing a lot of things he hadn't be allowed to do before. Yet, Stefan knew-had a gut feeling-that he probably shouldn't open the door this time. But the knocking was still there, slow and steady-waiting, and no one was there to answer it._

_He pushed himself away from the table where he had been doing his homework and gathered his courage. He made his way to the door, and then with a deep breath opened it. Who he found standing there was one of the last people on earth he would have thought to be standing at his door-under any circumstance-ever._

"_Katherine?"_

_She gazed down at him, looking just as he remembered her. Brown silk hair falling down her back, dark piercing eyes that could either make you feel insignificant or superior. Her body was slender and lithe and she used everything she had to her advantage. And she still scared him._

_She moved past him into the house looking around. He followed her._

"_What are you doing here?"_

_She stopped her searching and turned to look down at him again. She cocked her head to the side as she did so. Stefan shifted uncomfortably as her gaze seemed to strip him. A small smirk alighted her face._

"_Damon's not here." He said. She still hadn't spoken._

_She leaned toward him and ran a manicured finger along his collarbone, over his shoulder and half way down his back before she walked past him and into the kitchen. A distasteful shiver ran through his body and he followed her._

_She looked around the kitchen and then peered down at the table where his homework still lay. _

"_Book report?" She finally said._

_He looked at her confused. "What?"_

_She pointed to the table. "You were doing a book report-I interrupted you."_

_Stefan didn't know what to say and just stood therein the kitchen door way, watching her._

_Katherine leaned against the counter and flicked through some mail that his mother had left there since yesterday. "So, how old are you now, Stefan?"_

_She didn't make any sense to him. Why was she asking such unimportant questions? "Uh... twelve."_

_She didn't reply and pushed herself off of the counter and took a step toward him. He took an involuntary step back._

"_I'm not here for Damon. Did you know your father owned a summer house in Mystic Falls, Virginia?"_

_Stefan looked over his shoulder, as if perhaps his mother would be behind him and save him from this bewildering situation. She wasn't there. "So?"_

"_I hear it's nice over there." She shrugged, and came even closer to him._

_This time he tried to hold he tried to hold his ground, and just leaned back a bit. This close he could smell her perfume. She always wore the same perfume, and it always made him think of that day two years ago.._

_He blinked and straightened up when he realized she had asked another question and he had missed it. "Huh?"_

_She seemed to be out of patience now, which was another reason she scared him so much. Her mood swings were terrible if he remembered correctly. She extended her hand and shoved him against a wall, planting said hand on his chest._

"_Where's your mother?"_

_Stefan's heart was racing so fast and he just knew she could feel it. "I don't know! Katherine-what are you doing here!" He begged._

_She narrowed her eyes at him, but apparently finally deemed him worthy of an explanation. "I have some unfinished business with your mother. Klaus is on my trail and I need her. Plus I still need to think of something to do with Elena, and then there's Damon still trying to look for me, making a mess out of everything."_

_Klaus. Elena. Those names had no meaning to him. His mother. Damon. Those two names used to mean the world. Now it all swirled around in his head but he had no idea what any of it meant. "Wh...what?"_

_She rolled her eyes but then leaned forward and ran a finger down his face, still holding him up with her other hand. "Tsk. Sometimes I'm not careful with what I say. Or it could just be you... you Salvatore boys seem to have that affect on people."_

_He could feel vomit rising in his throat both from her touch and her stench. _

"_Look at me." Stefan tried not to, but he couldn't help getting caught in her gaze. Trapped. Like a fly in a spider's web._

"_You will not remember anything that I have told you. In fact... you will not remember that I came to visit at all."_

_Stefan blacked out then. At least he thought so. For when he came to he was sitting at the kitchen table-his homework splayed out in front of him. He looked around puzzled. Had he fallen asleep? He must have. _

_He shook his head, trying to get back to focus and turned all his attention to his book report. However, in the back of his mind two words nagged at his thoughts and kept trying to make their way to the top. Just two words over and over...Mystic Falls.._


End file.
